BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
1 August 2316
The August 1 Super Post
CBO Top Performances
Hitting - With a game score of 113, Nordhagen Beach's Justin Hazard set the July and season mark for top performance. On July 9 against Starlight, Hazard went 5 for 5 with two home runs, two runs, and seven RBI to lead the Party Boys to a 10-6 victory. His 9th-inning grand slam made up the scoring difference. Keen Sugiura was the previous season's leader with his 105 points on April 13.
Pitching - Easy Town's Lonely Gale had the month's and season's high score with 95 points scored on July 6 in a 4-0 victory against Fort Hagen. Gale pitched a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 10 in the victory for the Trons.
CBO Players of the Month
NCA Hitter - Diamond Ball, the Fort Hagen third baseman, certainly made a name for himself this past month. He banged out a .417 batting average with 40 hits, 8 home runs, 24 RBIs and scored 26 times.
That kind of hitting earned him the North Charles Association Batter of the Month honors for July.
Ball is hitting .324 this season with 18 home runs, 59 RBIs and 67 runs scored. He has 116 hits in 358 at-bats.
SCA Hitter - Deez Phantom battered South Charles Association pitchers all July and wound up taking home the Batter of the Month Award.
"I've been around Commonwealth Baseball Organization long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 27-year-old Phantom told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I might not take the field, and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month."
In 26 games, Phantom hit .371 with 4 home runs, 27 RBIs and scored 17 runs.
Phantom on the season is hitting .374 with 12 home runs. His stats include 62 RBIs and 50 runs scored.
NCA Pitcher - Lexington starter Deedee Martinson claimed the North Charles Association Pitcher of the Month Award today with his strong performance in July.
The 37-year-old starter tossed 55 innings of solid baseball, putting up a 2.95 ERA, 25 strikeouts and a 6-1 record in 7 starts.
In 24 starts this year, Martinson has fashioned a 17-5 record and a 2.87 ERA.
SCA Pitcher - In July, when the name of Jafar Khassanov appeared on the Egret lineup card it was a virtual lock on a victory. He started 7 times and chalked up 6 wins and 1 loss. With those stats it was also a virtual lock that he would be named the South Charles Association Pitcher of the Month.
Khassanov shackled opposing batters on 48 base hits and a .274 batting average. He rang up 24 strikeouts in 48 innings of work, surrendered 19 walks and fashioned a sparkling 2.44 ERA.
This season, Khassanov has compiled a 10-11 mark, 3.84 ERA and made 25 starts.
NCA Rookie - No doubt about it!
Cambridge starter Bullets Barnes earned his North Charles Association Rookie of the Month award.
He made that very clear as he mowed his way through league hitters in July.
For the month the 21-year-old Barnes recorded a 3-1 won-lost mark with a 2.77 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.
This season, Barnes has fashioned a 11-7 mark and 2.76 ERA in 169.2 innings. Opposing clubs are batting .234 against him and he has logged 121 strikeouts.
SCA Rookie - A newcomer to the league, Wunmore Tomorrow sewed up the South Charles Association Rookie of the Month Award today after posting stout numbers last month as a starter for Oberland.
In July he had a fine 1-0 mark as he compiled a 1.80 ERA. Tomorrow also tossed 15 strikeouts in 15 innings.
He has 40 relief appearances in 2316, worked 44 innings and struck out 43. Wunmore Tomorrow has posted 28 saves with a 2.25 ERA and a 1-3 record.
NEBL Analysis
There are only seven games remaining in the 2316 campaign, and all four divisions are relatively tight, though Providence leads the YL Connri by four games over the Bradberton Tycoons. In the PL Maine Division, the Danvers Sonics have a one-game lead over both the Lynn Fortune Finders and Clifton Vertibirds. In the PL Vershire Division, Greenfield has a one-game lead over Burlington and a two-game lead over both Graygarden and Abernathy. Five teams are still alive for the division crown. Finally, in the YL Mass Division, the Woburn Bobbleheads have a one-game lead over Sandwich with three other teams still alive.
NEBL Players of the Month
PL Hitter - Even though he is a newcomer to New England Baseball League, Duncan Donutz put up some good numbers in July and earned the PL Batter of the Month award.
He was one of Clifton's offensive leaders with a .373 average in 28 games. He also racked up 7 home runs, 22 RBIs, and 18 runs scored.
This season, Donutz has hit at a .331 clip with 37 RBIs, 11 home runs and 32 runs scored.
YL Hitter - Sluggo Luge made his presence known as one of the best young stars in the Yankee League this past month.
The Brookline Bandoliers third baseman shined through the month of July and has won the Batter of the Month award.
The 19-year-old hit .294 with 4 home runs, 20 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Luge is currently hitting at a .289 pace with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs.
PL Pitcher - The Lynn Fortune Finders celebrated today after the news filtered through the clubhouse that Ethan Lynch had been selected as July's Patriot League Pitcher of the Month. Lynch's zest for the game has been a frequent topic on the sports pages and his numbers of late have made his fans even more enthusiastic.
"Our coaching staff really helps me prepare well," Lynch said, "and the fans feed off good pitching. Your pitches just seem to have that extra pop to them when the fans are behind you and you feel confident you can get outs."
Lynch tossed 50 innings last month, holding opponents to a .270 average while striking out 29 batters. In 7 starting assignments he came away with a 5-2 record, putting together an ERA of 3.60.
Thus far this season, Lynch has posted a 12-6 record, started 21 games, struck out 89 batters in 142.1 innings and compiled a 3.73 ERA.
YL Pitcher - Petie Pembroke hated to see July turn to August.
And who could blame him?
The 20-year-old hurler piled up 6 wins and no losses for the Robobrains last month and won the Yankee League Pitcher of the Month award for his efforts.
Pembroke stymied opposing batters on 34 base hits and a .207 batting average. He rang up 36 strikeouts in 46.2 innings of work, surrendered 10 walks and fashioned a sparkling 2.31 ERA.
So far this season, Pembroke has a record of 8-6 with 113 strikeouts and 39 walks in 143 innings and a 3.08 ERA.
MML Analysis
Like the NEBL, the MML has seven games remaining per team in 2316. While no division has a winner yet, some teams are close. In the LL Boggs Division, the Covenant Refractors lead the Nashua Sams by five games. In the LL Murtagh Division, the Sanctuary Hills Zetans lead by five over the Revere Beach Shoremen. In the SL Williams Division, the Castle Strength have a four-game lead over the Hull Lead Bellies. Finally, in the SL Yastrzemski Division, the Mayoral Shelter Tricentennials have a two-game lead over the Bridgeport Gulchers.
MML Players of the Month
LL Hitter - Nashua Sams fans believe they've got a talented young star in Big Dipper Grzenkowicz.
He did nothing to dissuade that notion in July, as he hit .442 with 6 home runs, 23 RBIs and 20 runs scored.
The end result was the second baseman being named the Legends League Batter of the Month.
For the year, Grzenkowicz has hit at a .349 clip with 49 RBIs, 15 home runs and 46 runs scored.
SL Hitter - Mayoral Shelter's Weston DeGurlz wowed sportswriters in July with an award-winning performance. For his standout play he was voted the Stars League Batter of the Month.
He rang up a .462 batting average with 16 home runs, 39 RBIs and 28 runs scored. He also had 16 walks and a .529 on-base percentage.
DeGurlz currently has a .358 batting average with 120 hits, 31 homers, 83 RBIs, 62 runs scored and a .428 OBP.
LL Pitcher - The top-rated pitcher this past month in the Legends League was Elijah Pierce of the Winchester Bashers. He really dominated league hitters, finishing July with a 5-0 won-lost mark and a 3.03 ERA.
The Bashers ace made 5 starts and surrendered 29 hits in 35.2 innings. He struck out 28 and walked 10.
This year, Pierce has posted a 5-5 mark in 10 starts and has a 5.43 ERA.
SL Pitcher - Toadie Yamamoto is the latest Stars League Pitcher of the Month trophy winner. The Pawtucket starter sparkled on the diamond time and again last month and finished July with an outstanding 5-1 record.
In 6 starts he tossed 49 innings, posted 39 strikeouts, and sported a 2.02 ERA.
In 14 starts this season, Yamamoto has recorded a 9-4 record and a 3.38 ERA.
BMU and GBRL
Both the BMU and GBRL is in their fifth and final game in the Boston Minor Series and Rookie Series, respectively. Tomorrow, we will update those games and the CBO All-Star game.